Hutchinson's Struggle For Puritans

Improved Essays
Hutchinson's charges constituted a frontal attack on the spiritual authority of both the church and society. For Puritans, the ultimate source of authority was the Bible as it was interpreted by duly authorized ministers. Hutchinson's claim that she possessed the authority to interpret the Bible challenged this basic principle. Even more galling was her claim that she received immediate revelations from God. Her challenge to official doctrine threatened to tear the Massachusetts Bay Colony apart.

In November 1637, Hutchinson was brought before the General Court, the colony's principal governing body, on charges of sedition. Winthrop questioned her closely, but she eluded his grasp. The court adjourned.

The following day Hutchinson changed

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Some of Winthrop’s accusation are not backed up with credible prove and some of the actions Anne Hutchinson did, was for the love of God. This case should have never came to trial because the defendant did not commit any wrongdoings. Anne hutchinson did not trouble the peace. It was John Winthrop who quoted “ We must delight in each other, make others conditions own own, rejoice…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Admittedly, three years after arriving to America, Anne Hutchinson was banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638. Furthermore, Hutchinson is known to be one of the earliest American feminists, for being a spiritual leader who challenged male authority and speaking out about the way Puritan leaders were being trained. However, Anne’s banishment from Massachusetts only encouraged her to make her point by having her voice heard.…

    • 66 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692 and consisted of prosecutions of women and some men who were thought to have been practicing witchcraft. These women were taken to trial, and if they were convicted of practicing witchcraft, they were violently put to death. With the rising tensions in the colony, The Salem Witch trials of 1692 were caused by curiosity in religious beliefs, young women claiming they were possessed by the devil, and troubles arising among the community. By this point the people of Salem would consider themselves Puritans. They had many standards they had to abide by to keep good Christian standings, and as the people of Salem were learning more about the Christian religion, they learned about the devil and his possession.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Ann Hutchinson was falsely accused of witchcraft. Anne Hutchinson scandalized Massachusetts's authorities both for her unorthodox religious ideas and for her engagement in public issues. She was accused in Salem, a small puritan town. The fact that she was accused at all shows how short sighted early settlers were. They did not see the meaning of true religious freedom.…

    • 91 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Puritan Dbq

    • 1338 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Elizabeth during her reign successfully created a religious settlement which restored many of the divisions created by her predecessors. However in order to do so, she had to accept both Catholic and Protestant aspects of religion alike, which created tensions and angered those who were fully committed to their religion; this even led some to oppose the new church in attempts to change it so it was more suited to their religious views, thus acted as a barrier the church had to overcome in order to obtain religious harmony. In Source A, J.B. Neale maintains the view that the Queen knew of and recognised that there was a serious threat posed to both the church and state by the Puritans. According to him, the Puritans “had a ready flood of petitions”…

    • 1338 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    She became a threat to the Puritan establishment both because of her gender and because she attracted a large and influential following (Give me liberty vol. 1). In 1634 she and her husband moved to Boston from England after her husband was expelled from church. Here Anne began holding informal church meetings in her home and also led discussions of religious issues among women and men. Hutchinson views, salvation was God’s direct gift to the elect and could not be earned by good works devotional practices, or other human effort (Give me liberty vol. 1). In other words salvation does not come from church attendance and moral behavior rather than an inner state of grace (Give me Liberty…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1) The speech made by John Winthrop exemplified the belief that the Puritans had every right to observe religious liberty, so long as they demonstrated what they believed was “Christian manner.” He highlighted two forms of liberty: “Natural” liberty, where one acts “without restraint”; and “Moral” liberty, where the law of both God and the local rulers would be obeyed. Anne Hutchinson was put on trial because her beliefs strayed from those of the Puritan authorities, leading her to be considered “dangerous to authority.” Winthrop’s speech illustrated the criterion necessary to live the proper Puritan life and the importance of adhering to the power established by authorities.…

    • 1151 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A great injustice has been bestowed upon our Sister in Christ, Anne Hutchinson. The General Court has given Governor Winthrop a bully pulpit to condemn a true guardian of religious liberty. Accused of heresy, she stood before the court defending her right to practice her faith within the confines of her own home, in the company of other like-minded community members. A right for which many of us, including Winthrop, sought refuge in the New World. Such a censure reflects Winthrop’s failure to recognize in Mistress Hutchinson’s teachings the outlines of a religious and political philosophy with its own right to exist (Morgan 1937, 639).…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Anne Hutchinson had begun holding meetings at her home to discuss that week’s sermon with other members of the Puritan community. Often outspoken about her opinions, she grabbed the attention of John Winthrop a well-known lawyer in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Anne Hutchinson was taken to trial after accusing Puritan ministers and magistrates of proclaiming salvation was dependent on an individual's good works rather than on divine grace, which was contrary to Puritan teaching. She was initially charged with sedition however during the trial another charge of blasphemy became relevant. She was then banished to Providence, Rhode Island a Baptist community, and passed a few years…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This he believed was their covenant with God; an agreement to unconditionally obey God’s will(Morgan, pg.63). Winthrop believed their covenant with God was an extension of the Covenant of Grace, which Puritans believed was the only way to achieve salvation(How do I cite notes?). Winthrop, therefore, came under the belief that his actions was not an abandonment of his peers to escape their sin but an endeavor to extend English society and purify it. These views on Covenant Theology are reflected by Winthrop's ideals, in the form of the paradox, because wished to retain their connection to England, but not inherit the errors they wished to serve example against in their duty to be a model for the rest of England to emulate.…

    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Salem Witch Trials hysteria occurred in 1692, when the citizens of Salem Massachusetts turned on each other and accused hundreds of their own neighbors and people of practicing witchcraft. While around 150 total people were accused (most of them women), not everyone of them met the same fate. 19 people were hanged, one man was pressed to death, and a few died while imprisoned. The reasons behind the trials themselves are complex and they tie into the religious beliefs/constraints of Puritanism, socioeconomic class issues, and the longing for power in a strict community. The Salem Witch Trials also caused problems within the Puritan community by making fear a prominent factor of everyday life, which led to people doing things they normally…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the time of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson the controversy of separation of church and state was at its prime. This matter has long been an issue in our country’s history and the discussion continues today as we still struggle with the decisions of our forefathers. However, Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson played an important role in shaping the outcome of our country’s laws regarding the severance of church and state. Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson spoke out and taught about their views to others which completely went against the rules of the Puritans. The Puritans were strongly intolerant of other religions, or even members of their religion getting strange ideas, like Hutchinson and Williams.…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In a world much more advanced than that of the Puritans in the 17th century, the majority of Puritan ideas and rituals may appear unusual and strange, however, several of these ideas helped to shape American culture and identity into how it exists today. Numerous characteristics of modern Americans trace back to the ethics and ideas of the Puritans that first resided in America. In his article “Still Puritan After All These Years”, Matthew Hutson shows the American mind as largely guided by the philosophies of Puritans. An experiment performed with both Americans and Canadians with some test subjects exposed to ideas of salvation resulted in “the Americans — but not the Canadians — [solving] more anagrams with salvation on the mind.”…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drawing from biblical scripture, Winthrop declared the colonists to be a city set on a hill; chosen by the Lord God for a great work. He declared them to be God’s demonstration…

    • 1762 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the story The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Reverend Samuel Parris runs the church. Parris, supposedly, a puritan doesn’t fit the characteristics of one at all. A traditional Puritan is someone who craves a simple form of religion, shows self reliant, selflessness, and is respected by one’s neighbors. A traditional puritan knows God created a plan for everyone and shows patience in receiving a valuable fortune. Parris expresses un-puritan ways in the aspects of his religion, greed, reputation, attitude and paranoia.…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays